The original recipe (pictured) calls for cocoa powder on top, but my sister’s favorite is made with shaved chocolate. All I had was chips so we ground them in the food processor, and even that was superior to the cocoa, it had a much nicer mouth feel. Shaved would be even better!
7 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup sweet marsala, plus 2 tablespoons
8 ounces mascarpone, softened to room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup brewed espresso coffee
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
1/4 cup coffee liquor
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
48 ladyfingers
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, shaved.
Cream together egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Add 1/3 cup of the marsala and continue to whisk (or beat with a hand-held mixer) until mixture is thick and doubled in volume. This is basically a zabaglione. Remove from heat. Stir in the mascarpone until completely blended.
In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture, to lighten.
In a small saucepan, combine espresso, chocolate, coffee liquor, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons marsala. Heat gently, and stir to dissolve the chocolate. Then, chill the mixture to cool it down, about 15 minutes. Arrange 24 ladyfingers in a single layer on a 9 by 13-inch glass baking pan. Brush with 1/3 of the chilled coffee mixture. Spread 1/2 the mascarpone cream evenly with a spatula on top of the dipped ladyfingers. Repeat with a second layer of ladyfingers, remaining 2/3 coffee mixture (the extra will drip down to the bottom layer–an even split causes the bottom layer to be over-soaked) and remaining mascarpone cream. Sprinkle top with shaved chocolate. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.